Passenger Trains > The Superliner Crew Lounge

I’m currently riding Amtrak #30, the Capital Limited, from Chicago to Washington DC. Car 3009 is a Transition Sleeper (one end has traditional door, ie single level, while the other end door is up high, at Superliner height). The lower level of this car has the ADA-compliant suite spanning the width of the car. The other end has the ‘Crew Lounge’, which is a massive area with two tables (booth setup) and a large open space. I’ve seen drawings that featured 4 large recliners here at some point in the past.

Below is a picture I grabbed while exploring.

Posted from iPhone



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/19/20 20:27 by GoodTimeCharlie.

The recliners now reside in private  homes.!

 

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Those crew lounge seats were a good place to unwind for a bit and get away from the passengers for a few minutes. Unfortunately, as with so many things (VCRs in the lounge cars, for one), if it had any value and wasn't welded in place, some thief (internal and external) would find a way to walk away with it.

I seriously doubt the recliners were stolen and, if I recall, they were bolted down.  They were swivel parlor car type seats.  They all disappeared about the same time in all the cars.
The area was supposed to be a break area for the OBS Crew, but that was kind of silly- what break?!  (My shift was 18- 20hrs with three 45min breaks to eat)
SR

The downstairs lounge in the Superliner II Transition Sleeper could also serve as an office for operating crew.  I witnessed this when it was necessary to plan a detour due to a freight train derailment.  Complicating matters: this was an inaugural trip of a long distance train, its consist swollen to sixteen Superliners and an Express Boxcar that would prevent the train from being pulled backwards (the boxcar had no passthrough HEP wiring) and using a detour route that would necessitate that.

The process was too complex to be done on dining car tables (this began at 245am) and too many people were involved (a host railroad representative and an Amtrak passenger service manager were included) for it to be done in the tiny Conductor's office upstairs in the car.  Procedural manuals and timetables were spread out on the tables and a lot of cellphone communications were going on.  What the crew lacked was maps of the detour route.  The conductor asked the engineer on the radio if he had any maps.  I heard this on my scanner, had maps, dressed quickly and went downstairs to the crew lounge with the maps.  That was my "ticket" to witness the planning of the detour over nearly the next three hours.

The reason for this contribution to the thread: as of that date the recliners were gone.  We sat at tables like those shown in the photo above (I didn't think it appropriate to take photos while the detour was being planned).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/19/20 23:24 by GenePoon.

How many Roomette/Rooms, on the upper level of this Crew Dorm Car.

Thanks

GenePoon Wrote:
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> The reason for this contribution to the thread: as
> of that date the recliners were gone.

What date was it?  (You left that out)

And what train / route was it?

SouthPenn Wrote:
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> How many Roomette/Rooms, on the upper level of
> this Crew Dorm Car.
>
> Thanks

Well I just arrived DC from Chicago ... I didn’t specifically count them. I’d go with 8 + 8. Top level was all roomettes.

I think the first diagram here is correct.

http://www.craigmashburn.com/amtrakcardiagrams.html

One thing to note - about only half of them were booked. The roomette I reserved had a nasty squeak and the attendant allowed me to switch into an empty roomette.

Posted from iPhone

As the webpage says, there are 2 different versions of the 39000 series transition sleeper cars and subtle differences. The original series only has one toilet / shower upstairs for example.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/20 11:41 by DevalDragon.

And no handicap room in the first batch, . 

restricted_speed Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> GenePoon Wrote:

> > The reason for this contribution to the thread: as
> > of that date the recliners were gone.

> What date was it?  (You left that out)
>
> And what train / route was it?
========================

February 1998:  California Service Texas Eagle, Chicago-Los Angeles via St. Louis, Ft. Worth, San Antonio.  It
made for a fourth weekly train San Antonio-Los Angeles.  VIP ridership was high because it was hoped that
shippers would use the train for carload Amtrak Express shipments and were invited by Amtrak Mail and
Express.  The idea didn't work out but Amtrak had gotten its foot in the door with Union Pacific.  A
couple of years later in a horsetrade, the California Service was discontinued and the
Chicago-San Antonio Texas Eagle returned to daily service.

I would venture to guess that virtually every Amtrak official on that train has now retired or moved
on.  The Union Pacific representative was Tom Mulligan; he lurked here on Trainorders for years
and is now in his rocking chair.  Zeb Love, famous Missouri Pacific passenger conductor and
honored guest, has passed on; so has Don Cushine, at the time Amtrak General Manager,
Intercity-West.  Joy Smith, product line manager, remained at Amtrak through numerous
promotions until taking the Joe Boardman buyout.

Ed Ellis, you all know about.

Among the other passengers aboard was "Mundo" who posts here.  He was downstairs in the same
Sleeping Car that I was riding in.

Photo: "Mundo" in the Lounge Car, riding Amtrak on the Cotton Belt Route.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/20 17:57 by GenePoon.

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Tom Mulligan...He's a good guy and was very helpful to me back we were both a lot younger!

JB - Omaha

The Superliner Trans Dorm/Sleeper can easily supply more roomettes for sale to passengers. I am glad to see more of the rooms being utilized. The Viewliners have 12 roomettes, 2 bedrooms, and 1 handicap room. The Superliner Trans/Dorm Sleeper has one extra room (16) compared to the Viewliner in terms of just rooms/berths. The Handicap room - regardless of versions - is not open for booking. The old crew lounge could be transformed into a large bedroom for special booking, or have roomettes for the crew added. The conductor's office is not used anymore, so that room could also be reverted to a roomette. I do see the conductors using the booths in the Crew Car, but they also use space in the Diner and Sightseer Lounge........Had more VIewliner/Baggage Cars been manufactured, the Superliner Trans/Dorm Car could have been converted to a full revenue-roomette based car..........and crew moved to the Viewliner Bagg/Dorm. This could still happen on the busier Superliner routes (CA Zephyr or Empire Builder) if Amtrak wanted to. 

Joy Smith is still around, fighing just as hard, but not as an employee.